Track-intersection structure.



J. B. STRONG & J. 'D. MOPHERSON.

TRACK INTEBSBGTION STRUUTURB.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 25,1916.

Patented Apr. 4, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

r Y m w llvue nio/w .Tus Nonni: FErsRs co.. wAsNl Narou, u. c.

Patented Apr. 4, 19-11.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

ks co.. wAsmNcramb, c.

J. B. STRONG & J. D. MOPHERSON.

TRACK INTEBSEOTION STRUCTURE.

APPLIoATIoN FILED JUNB25,1910.

UNTTED sTATEs PATENT OEETOE.

JAMES BOORMAN STRONG AND JOHN DOUGLAS MCPHERSON, OF HILLBURN, NEW YORK; SAID STRONG .ASSIGNOR TO RAMAIO IRON WORKS, OF HILLBURN, NEW YORK, .A

CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

TRACK-INTERSECTION STRUCTURE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 4, 1911.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that we, JAMES BOORMAN STRONG and JOHN DOUGLAS MoPHERsoN,citi zens of the United States, residing at Hillburn, county of Rockland, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Track-Intersection Structures, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to structures such as frogs, switches, mates, crossings and similar structures.

Devices of this kind are subjected to very heavy wear and to sudden shocks, very unequally distributed with respect to the struc ture as a whole, and generally concentrated at certain definite points of excessive service, all of which causes ra id deterioration and the early destruction o those points and the consequent disablement of the entire piece unless constructed on proper mechanical lines and with special provision for the protection of the said points of eXtra wear in a manner affording both strength and rigidity.

In the past many efforts have been made to meet these requirements by devising track structures in which the said points of excess wear were comprised in separate portions or centers constructed of specially durable material so disposed as to be readily renewable when worn out, but such efforts have generally failed of perfect success because, in the attempt to make the renewable portions replaceable with special readiness, the rigidity and solidity necessary to enable these portions to last their full and )roper length of service have been sacrilicec. In other words, the ordinary renewable center in such former `constructions has usually failed long before exhausted by actual wear because of deterioration due to shocks traceable to insufficiently rigid support.

The principal or primary object of our invention is to provide a structure which will be evenly durable; that is to say which (a) in case the main portion of the structure is made of the same material as the adjacent connecting part of the track, will last the full life of the latter or which (b) in case the entire structure is made of harder material than the adjacent part of the track Will, as a whole, last longer than the latter part to an extent strictly in pro ortion to the factor of the relative durability of the materials of thetrack and the structure, respectively. Furthermore provision is made for facilitating replacements with the least possible interruption to traffic, but without impairing or sacrificing the proper rigidity of the structure.

The various other objects of the invention will be more fully set forth in the following description of various structures embodying the invention, which consists in the new and novel features of construction and combination of parts hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings which disclose one or more forms of track intersection structures embodying the invention: Figure l is a plan view of a standard girder rail point mate embodying the invention: Fig. 2 represents a plan view of a frog embodying the invention: Fig. 3 represents cross-sections on the lines 3, 3 of Figs. l and 2 respectively. Fig. 4 represents a crosssection on the line 1, 1l of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a plan view of a standard girder rail crossing with the center plate removed. Fig. 6 represents a cross-section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 represents a plan view of a standard girder rail crossing embodying the invention with the centerplate in place. Figs. 8 and 9 represent cross-sections on the lines 8-8 and 9-9 of Fig. 7.

Referring to the drawings, the bodyportion a of the track structure comprises the vertical sides b provided with the flanges o and the horizontal connecting piece d preferably made, as shown, integral with the sides b. Preferably the connecting piece d and the sides I) are provided with recesses e forming pockets for the fusible lock hereinafter described. If desired the body may be provided with depending webs f and the suitable cross webs g A centerplate It seats upon the body portion, and comprises the centerpiece, provided with thc treads, flange-ways and guards of the intersecting tracks which, eX- tended7 meet the corresponding parts of the track rails, which are secured to the body in any suitable manner, as by the arms -the edge of the body part is The centerplate also comprises the integral depending lugsv j which fit over the out-- side of the body portion and are preferably provided with recesses adapted to register with the recesses provided in the sides of the body. Preferably said lugs are slightly flexible so as to clasp the body portion.

The centerplate is secured against displacement by means of the bolts which pass through the body portion and the lugs and are so arranged that a crushing pressure may be exerted to force the lugs into contact with the body portion, or, normally, any desirable force may bel applied to insure horizontal rigidity.. Furthermore the center is secured to the bodyv portion by means of screw operated wedges, formed preferably by' a sleeve m having a wedge formed on one end thereof adaptedV to engage a suitable opening provided through the body portion and said lugs and a bolt n having its headI provided withA a wedge which seats in a corresponding opening provided through the body portion and the lugs, and at its opposite end is provided with a nut wherebyl said sleeve and head may be tightened and the parts of the structure forced into engagement.

In order to further secure the parts against relative displacement, to insure maintenance of perfect alinement of the centerpiece with respect to the body, and to provide means for rendering the separate parts of the structure, when once assembled andv fastened together, operatively one unit, rovided with a projecting flange p, wiich forms a bearing for the centerpiece and which cooperates with a corresponding flange or extension formed at or near the end of the depending lug on the inside thereof to form pockets e to receive any fusible bonding metal such for instance as Babbitt metal. The upper surface of the body is also provided with a recess f e and the centerplate is lprovided with a registering recess as shown-in Fig. 9, thus forming one or more pockets adapted to receive Babbitt or other fusible metal and thus assuring perfect maintenance of the alineinent of the parts as set. Also, in such cases as that shown in Fig. 8 where the width of the top of the body portion, between the ordinary edge bearing rims, is so great that but for the fusible metal filling the centerplate would overhang to a possibly undue extent and too much reliance for its support be imposed upon the soft metal filling, extensions or islands r may be raised from the base of the recess e" to meet registering extensions 1 formed in the corresponding recess of the centerplate, to aord additional support for the latter. Furthermore, at the corners and other salient points of the centerplate the upper portion of the same may be extended n and thickened up so as to form rests considerably beyond the ends of the lugs (1677 which bear upon the tops of piers or `pilasters, e erected in the body portion to meet said restsy and therebyafford ad` ditional guarantee against any tilting of the centerplate bywagons or other heavy trucks, such as are given to striking against the structure in a manner such as the heaviest car or train riding upon the structure itself can never exert.

By means of this construction an exceedingly'strong and rigid structure is produced, in which relative movement between the parts is practically impossible, and in which the shock of passing ears or trains is distributedv throughout the entire structure, instead of being sustained by one or more parts in succession, as in priorv forms of sti'ucture which, because of insufficient union of their parts, have frequently deterioratedV far more rapidly than the character of the :materials usually employed for these portions should ustify or excuse. At the same time the centerplate in our'invention can be readily removed by rst withdrawing the wedges and bolts andi thereafter either melting out the Babbitt, or other fusible metal, or, if more convenient as toY the facilities at hand, by exerting suflicient force with levers operating inlift holes (not shown) which may be provided for the purpose, to press: the pocket flanges or lips of the depending lugs over the edges of the soft metal locks formed' in the recesses. When so removed, by either of the above methods, the pockets in the body portion are immediately accessible, since they are formed wholly on the outside of the body portion, and can` be cleaned out preparatory to receiving a new centerplate. Also, the peculiar shaping of the ends of the surface portions of the body and of the centerpiece, respectively, as at o, g, 1" and t `serves to keep the twov said parts alined sufliciently for temporary use and hence minimizes the necessary interruption to traflic during renewal of the centerpiece, since during the said' process of replacement, even after the wedges and bolts are withdrawn, andA the soft metal locks removed, the structure is practically available for the use of traflic except during the time required' for the actuall removal of the old' centerplate and the insertion of the new one.

Although we have shown our inventionembodied in one or more track structures,A

it is not intended' to limit the scope of the invention merely to such structures, sinceit is obvious that the principles of the invention can be applied to intersecting track structures of all kinds and' that various construction herein shown without departin from the spirit of the invention, provided that the means set forth in the following claims be employed.

We claim as our invention:

l. A track intersection structure comprisin a hollow body portion having vertical sides and a horizontal connecting piece formed integral with the sides at the top thereof, and a center plate adapted to seat on said body, said center plate being provided with lugs embracing the outside of the body portion.

2. A track intersection structure comprising a body portion having vertical sides and a horizontal connecting piece and a centerplate provided with flexible lugs formed integral with said centerplate and engaging with the outside of the body portion.

3. A track intersection structure comprising a body portion and a centerplate seating on the top of said body portion and provided with lugs embracing the outside of the body portion and locked thereto.

4l. A track intersection structure comprising a body portion and a centerplate seating upon the top of said body portion and provided with lugs embracing the outside of the body portion and locked thereto by means constituting a horizontal tie between the body portion and the centerplate.

5. A track intersection structure comprising a body portion and centerplate seating upon the top of said body portion and rovided with lugs embracing the outsideo the body portion and locked thereto by means constituting a vertical tie between the body portion and the centerplate.

6. A track intersection structure comprising a body portion and a centerplate seating upon the top of said body portion and provided with lugs embracing the outside of the body portion and locked thereto by means constituting a horizontal and a vert-ical tie.

7 A track intersection structure comprising a body portion and a centerplate seating upon the top of said body portion and provided with lugs embracing the outside of the body portion and locked thereto by means constituting a horizontal tie, a vertical tie, and a soft metal filler lock operatively uniting the body portion and the centerplate when pressed together into one structure.

. 8. In a track intersection structure the combination with a body portion comprising sides and top, and having a projecting flange on the edge of said body portion of a centerplate having an oppositely projecting flange seating on the top of the body portion and provided with depending lugs having flanges formed thereon engaging the body portion, said flanges forming pockets to receive a fusible lock between the body portion and the centerplate.

9. In a track intersection structure, the combination with a body portion comprising sides and a top having recesses formed in both the sides and the top to receive a locking metal, of a centerplate provided with a fiange to seat upon the top of the body portion comprising a track surface portion and depending flexible lugs each having recesses formed therein to register with the recesses in the body portion.

10. In a track intersection structure, the combination with a body portion and a centerplate having lugs embracing said body portion, of means comprising wedges and a Wedge bolt for holding said parts together.

11. In a track intersection structure, the combination with a body portion and a centerplate having lugs embracing said body portion, of means comprising a wedge sleeve and a wedge bolt for holding said parts together.

12. In a track intersection structure the combination with a body portion and a centerplate, of a wedge key, a wedge bolt engaging said body portion and center plate and means for simultaneously actuating said bolt and sleeve to produce a wedging action.

13. In a track intersection structure, the combination of a body portion with a centerplate having depending lugs embracing said body portion and having a part of the top portion of said centerplate resting upon piers of the body portion extending beyond the outer limits of the centerplate lugs to afford additional support against tilting action.

This specification signed and witnessed this 17th day of June, A. D., 1910.

JAMES BOORMAN STRONG. JOHN DOUGLAS MGIHERSON. Signed in the presence of J. EDGAR DAVIDSON, THOMAS M. I-IorPER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

